Review: Whose Body?

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable detective romp that has exactly all of the things you would expect from a murder mystery that has a Lord as the sleuth - a dimwit detective, a dastardly villain, and plenty of "what ohs" and "Yes, sirs" (from the ever-present butlers). There are moments, however, of uncomfortable reading with the odd bit of antisemitism banded about is if it's not remotely problematic. But, as always, you do have to judge a book by the time it was written (1920s) and the antisemitism is more about stereotypes than anything hateful.

What I was surprised by was how well-rounded Lord Wimsy is - he's described as having "nervous problems" because of WWI and these are described with sympathy. I was particularly impressed by a speech he gives in which he recognises that what is a "jolly jape" to him (i.e. finding the murderer) will have a dramatic effect on people's lives (i.e. someone will be convicted and hanged).

View all my reviews

Review: The Power

The Power by Naomi Alderman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An absolutely brilliant book.

I was put off reading The Power because I thought it'd be about women - having suddenly developed the power to give off electric shocks - going on murderous rampage against men. But, having read so many good things about it, I decided to give it an go; and I'm really glad I did.

It's not about women going on a murderous rampage at all. It's literally about power and what happens when people traditionally without power suddenly get power over those who have traditionally held it. There is a multitude of terrible things that happen to men in the book after they become the "weaker sex" and it's sickening because you realise these things are happening right now to women all over the world. Things that are allowed to happen because men are taught to believe that they must be powerful, strong, and dominant and women are taught to believe that they must be powerless, weak, and passive. OK, so it's not as clear cut as that but, in subtle ways, that's exactly what culture historically would have us think.

For me, this is a must read. If you aren't a feminist (whether you're male or female) before reading this book, you will certainly be afterwards.

View all my reviews

Review: Visitation

Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beautifully written tale of a house and its occupants, ranging from start of the 20th Century (I think) to the reunification of Germany. All of the stories of the occupants are poignant, particularly those relating to Jewish residents during WW2 (one is actually quite devastating).

To be honest, though, I am not really a fan of this style book in which individual stories are linked by a common thread (ie the house). So while I objectively would say it's a very good novel, I didn't particularly enjoy reading it.

View all my reviews